TMO, Heilongjiang State Farm sign biomass contract for ethanol facility in China

TMO Renewables has selected Heilongjiang State Farm (HSF) to supply of biomass feedstock for its ethanol facilities to be constructed in Heilongjiang province, China.

The company will evaluate and study a variety of feedstocks provided by HSF using its process demonstration unit (PDU) in Surrey, UK, and study their feasibility to determine the optimal process for each material at a commercially scale.

TMO CEO David Weaver said securing the supply contract is a step in building the first second generation biofuel facility in China.

"Our network in China is growing and we look forward to announcing an offtake agreement for the ethanol produced, another key element that needs to be in place for the delivery of an operational plant in the province," Weaver said.

HSF 93 farm director-general Zhang Guichun said, "Second generation ethanol production has been part of our strategy at the

Heilongjiang State farm for some time and so we are excited to see the first step in the realisation of this strategy and eager to see the future plant start production as soon as possible."

TMO was selected as a technology partner by two major Chinese organisations, COFCO and CNOOC New Energy Investment, to jointly test and produce ethanol from cassava residue and cassava stalk.

The second generation ethanol facility produces biofuels from non-food, organic feedstocks.